live from washington, this is a bbc news special on the negotiations and release of hostages and prisoners in the israel—gaza war. war returns to the gaza strip, after a 7—day ceasefire expires. fears grow that hostage negotiations may have collapsed. while some families celebrate the return of relatives, others face the anguish of knowing their loved ones remain in gaza, amid the fresh hostilities. and some palestinians released from prison allege abuse while in detention. i'm helena humphrey, good to have you with us. after 7 days of a temporary ceasefire, fighting has resumed between israel and hamas. and with the renewed violence, hopes that more hostages

would be released have been put on hold. over the past week, israelis and palestinians had started to get a little more used to scenes like this of reunion and relief, with children in particular the focus of worldwide attention. for the families still waiting, now the question — what are the chances that further negotiations can yield a breakthrough? so far, 110 israeli hostages held by hamas have been freed, and 240 palestinians have been released from israeli prisons. these were mostly women, children and teenagers. and in this programme, we want to put the names, faces and stories to those numbers. in that spirt, on tuesday, 84—year—old ditza heiman, one of the founders of kibbutz nir oz in israel was released. she is a former social worker and also the widow of a holocaust survivor who came to the uk on the kindertransport. sisters dafna and ela elyakim were freed on sunday after being taken from their father's home,

also on kibbutz nir oz. their mother shared this photo of their reunion, writing: "my precious daughters were returned to me yesterday, a moment etched forever in my memory." emily hand, who turned nine while in captivity, was released last saturday. her father told cnn that she is pale, has lost weight and now whispers because she was "conditioned not to make any noise." and siblings 16—year—old aisha and 18—year—old bilal zyadna were among the six hostages released on thursday, after 55 days in captivity. their father and older brother are still being held by hamas. now, for many the return home does not mean a return to normal. many hostages carry not just the psychical scars if their time in captivity, but the pychological ones, too. yesterday, my colleague caitriona perry spoke to the ceo of the schneider children's medical center of israel about the condition of some of their youngest patients released from capitivity.

we don't want to infringe on anyone�*s privacy obviously, but can you tell us in a general way what sort of condition that people are when they arrive with you, the women and children? it with you, the women and children?— children? it is very sad because _ children? it is very sad because i _ children? it is very sad because i try _ children? it is very sad because i try to - children? it is very sad because i try to put - children? it is very sad because i try to put it | children? it is very sad i because i try to put it into words. _ because i try to put it into words, the images that i see, once — words, the images that i see, once they— words, the images that i see, once they get to a hospital. i would — once they get to a hospital. i would say that when they come, they don't— would say that when they come, they don't really look like children. i would say they look more — children. i would say they look more like _ children. i would say they look more like shadows of children. kind _ more like shadows of children. kind of— more like shadows of children. kind of hollow children. they have — kind of hollow children. they have no_ kind of hollow children. they have no impression on their face, _ have no impression on their face, not _ have no impression on their face, not sad, not happy, just no impression. we hardly speak, very quiet — no impression. we hardly speak, very quiet. if they do speak, it is— very quiet. if they do speak, it is very— very quiet. if they do speak, it is very quiet. the same with their_ it is very quiet. the same with their mothers. you see mothers with_ their mothers. you see mothers with their— their mothers. you see mothers with their children, hugging

them, — with their children, hugging them, just not even one centimetre away from them, and still very— centimetre away from them, and still very worried and it takes them — still very worried and it takes them quite a while to really believe _ them quite a while to really believe that they are no longer any place — believe that they are no longer any place that might hurt them. a senior adviser to the israeli prime minister has told the bbc that israel was willing to extend its military pause, but only if hamas had freed more hostages. hamas had the opportunity, we would have had a pause today had they released hostages. my understanding is they have close to 20 women they could have released in the framework of the existing agreement and yet they chose not to do so. for its part, hamas says it did make several offers regarding further hostage releases — all of which were rejected by israel. that leaves an estimated 140 israeli hostages inside gaza waiting for their release. as qatar, the us and egypt continues negogations in hopes

of reaching a new deal that would see additional hostages released. with me now is oliver mcternan, director of forward thinking, who has worked on hostage negotiation for more than 20 years. glad to have you with us this evening. oliver, after a week of hostage and prisoner releases, now the situation in which hostilities, the war has returned. i would like to get your thoughts on the prospects for another pause and the potential for people to be returned to safety once again? given the tragic stories we have been listening to, i would love to give you a message of hope and say yes, it will happen, but right from the beginning, i have always found the two targets set by benjamin netanyahu incompatible. on the one hand, he says look, we're coming after you too will

imitate you, and on the other hand he is saying we expect you to release the hostages. in my experience, i would see these two objectives are incompatible and i think they resulted in the long delay before we saw the long delay before we saw the release of innocent civilians. they should have been released immediately without any preconditions and i think there wasn't play something like that, you cannot expect the process in such a situation as gaza to go smoothly, and the safety of the hostages is put first. you cannot expect that if you have bombardments. i have been seeing from day one to secure the safe release of the hostages, you must have a ceasefire. hostages, you must have a ceasefire-— ceasefire. israel, for its art, ceasefire. israel, for its part. would _ ceasefire. israel, for its part, would say - ceasefire. israel, for its part, would say that - ceasefire. israel, for its| part, would say that the ceasefire. israel, for its - part, would say that the war and the hostilities in the bombardment essentially has resulted in the release of hostages in the first place.

can a resumption of hostilities be a pressure tactic? ha. can a resumption of hostilities be a pressure tactic?— can a resumption of hostilities be a pressure tactic? no. in my experience. _ be a pressure tactic? no. in my experience. l — be a pressure tactic? no. in my experience, i spent _ be a pressure tactic? no. in my experience, i spent over - be a pressure tactic? no. in my experience, i spent over five i experience, i spent over five years involved with the release and negotiating for the release of hostages, i have stopped being involved in other negotiations in gaza, i have always found that once you try to force release through bombardment, all it does is delay the process. it does not actually help. if those making the decisions now use people in israel with the experience of that, i think we would have a different approach. i that, i think we would have a different approach.— different approach. i want to ask about — different approach. i want to ask about a _ different approach. i want to ask about a particular- different approach. i want to i ask about a particularjunction ask about a particularjunction we are at now, we have got to the point where further releases good potentially mean soldiers release, those that israel says are guilty of crimes. how much more complex does this make negotiations? i does this make negotiations? i think it will make a complex and you will not get what the

parameters that, ten or 20 a day and another day of entries. that is not workable. in explaining why soldiers are taken, i do not endorse it. or agree with that. i am just explaining it. the lack of review system in the israeli military court, if people are convicted, the cases are not reviewed, in light of that, hamas, and i am not endorsing it, started to seek taking israeli soldiers as a leverage. a soldier is seen in a different capacity than a civilian and i would stress that it was totally morally and wrong for the hamas to take civilian hostages. soldiers, they see as a leverage to get prisoners released who otherwise would not have a hope of seeing the light of day

outside of the prison. that is the problem. as we get into this negotiation, negotiations are normally something totally private. in the five years i was involved, there was not a single press conference, no—one knew who was involved. it was something that was done quietly and privately. now the hostage situation is part of a propaganda war, part of a blame game, both sides trying to play around their emotions outside. that is not facilitating a process that will lead to the release of the hostages. i process that will lead to the release of the hostages. i want to “um release of the hostages. i want to jump in- _ release of the hostages. i want to jump in- we _ release of the hostages. i want to jump in. we have _ release of the hostages. i want to jump in. we have very - release of the hostages. i want to jump in. we have very little | tojump in. we have very little time left for you were talking about the process playing out in the open, do you see that as a hindrance ora help? in the open, do you see that as a hindrance or a help? briefly. i really do because it is all “p i really do because it is all up there like theatre, we are forgetting the anguish, the hurt of the hostages, the families that want to be

reunited and the 2.3 million in gaza who are subject to daily bombardment. i think that is where the focus is, we need for primarily for humanitarian purposes a ceasefire but we also need a ceasefire to facilitate the process whereby the hostages can be released safely. oliver mcternan, director of forward thinking, who has worked on hostage negotiation for more than 20 years. thank you so much for your insights. as the effort continues to get more israeli hosages released, friday marked a sobering reality for the families of those who will never come home. the deaths of six hostages held by hamas have been confirmed. among them are 85—year—old arye zalmanovich, who is believed to be the oldest hostage taken from kibbutz nir oz. ronen engel, a photographer and volunteer for israel's emergency service. his wife and two daughters were released this week as part of the temporary truce.

75—year—old eliyahu margalit, father to nurse nili margalit, also released on thursday. and ofra keidar, who was said to be on a walk on october 7 when she was abducted. her husband, sami, was killed in theirfamily home in kibbutz be'eri. qatari negotiators have played a large role in brokering the temporary truce between israel and hamas. their participation in talks has resulted in so far a week—long ceasefire that's freed more than a 100 hostages, released 210 palestinian prisoners and allowed for much needed humanitarian aid into gaza. but how did they become involved? qatar is one of the very few countries with an open line of communications to both israel and hamas. it's home to senior hamas leaders in exile, like khalid mashal. and while there are no official diplomatic relations between israel and qatar, it was one of the first gulf arab states to establish

offical trade ties in the 1990s. the qataris are also no strangers to the role of mediator. they were instrumental in evacuating people from afghanistan two years ago. qatari officials also helped free western hostages held by extremist groups in syria and most recently brokered a high—profile prisoner swap between us and iran. for more on qatar's role, i spoke with brian katulis, senior fellow and vice president of policy at the middle east institute. welcome to the programme and thank you for being with us. if we look at the role of guitar in these negotiations, it has clearly had some success, for example if you look at the truce. what do you think makes qatar a successful negotiator? first it has the relationships inside of gaza, particularly with the hamas leadership, by virtue of the fact that it actually hosts some of the

hamas leaders after the civil war broke out in syria about a decade ago. some of the hamas leadership is there. second, it has the relationship, in part because israel and in particular benjamin netanyahu asked qatar to actually help deliver funding to hamas enter the infrastructure in gaza many years. to find salaries of school teachers and other things while hamas was ruling out after 2007. because of those relationships, that is what makes qatar an important negotiator in gaza and also has experience in other places, including afghanistan, iran, so it plays this role, though a small country, it punches above its weight because of that role. its weight because of that role, , .,, its weight because of that role. , ., role. some people call it a kind of neutral _ role. some people call it a| kind of neutral interlocutor which is similar to, for example, switzerland, but if you take a look at its foreign

policy, some people point to it as being a 360 average when it comes to the airbase, for example, that a host for the united states, of course due to the fact that also hosts hamas officials. i wonder is there something in it for qatar here? absolutely. it puts these very small country in the news every day, it gets some positive benefit from a but i would see that this very constructive criticism, because it does have relationships with some of the terror groups and islamist movements across the region and that has been because the consternation. if you recall from 2017— consternation. if you recall from 2017- 2020, consternation. if you recall from 2017— 2020, there was a boycott of qatar, and isolation attack by some of its neighbours, saudi arabia in particular, because of those activities. also qatar is controversial because it

supports and funds allergy zero, the news network that in many ways offers a rhetoric and propaganda, some critics say about what is going on in places like gaza right now. it is a mixed bag but on balance, without qatar, we would not have seen more than 100 hostages get out of gaza over the last week. there is still working with the united states and israel to try to figure out whether some form of ceasefire could be cobbled together over this very weekend. as we know, hamas is designated by the uk and other western governments as a terrorist organisation. how do you think qatar navigates that when it is of course an ally of the united states. are there potential pitfalls there when the us has explicitly warned doha that no

more business as usual when it comes to hamas.— comes to hamas. absolutely there are pitfalls, _ comes to hamas. absolutely there are pitfalls, not - comes to hamas. absolutely there are pitfalls, notjust i comes to hamas. absolutelyj there are pitfalls, notjust us but other terror groups and i would add to that relationships with iran, a huge state sponsor of terror across the middle east. it does play this role. you described it as 360 and i think that is appropriate but because of that, there is a lot of controversy without and criticism about the role of qatar. i would say on balance, it still plays an important role in trying to help things stop from spiralling further out of control. that is why it is essential for the united states and europe and others to continue with working with qatar to try to produce results but also do it not with closed eyes but with eyes wide open up about some of the negative aspects of the engagement of qatar. ., , ., .,

aspects of the engagement of qatar. ., ,., ., , ., qatar. on that point, do you think there _ qatar. on that point, do you think there is _ qatar. on that point, do you think there is the _ qatar. on that point, do you think there is the potential l qatar. on that point, do you | think there is the potential of another breakthrough when it comes to the release of hostages and prisoners, cognisant of the fact that qatar, egypt, the us is still talking about this right now? i talking about this right now? i hope so because it's notjust about the release of hostages but the cessation of bombing thatis but the cessation of bombing that is quite deadly when it happens. it also means increasing the flow of humanitarian aid which is necessary. so i hope that happens. the reason why i think it will get quite difficult is the first 100 plus release were mostly children, women, people who essentially people asked why the world would any person in their right mind take people like this? now the people that remain, if they are still alive, our men, people who are members of the israeli defence force for negotiations get tougher. the other challenge and layer of this is notjust

her mouth holding these individuals. it is palestinian islamichhad and other groups. we are also learning more about the 240 prisoners released by israel. so far, during the temporary truce mostly women and teenage boys have been freed. they were chosen from a list compiled by israeli officials of 300 palestinians whose alledged offenses range from throwing stones to attempted murder. the majority have not been charged or sentenced for any crime. those released include khalil zamareh, a palestinian teen released on the third day of the truce. and palenstinian activist ahed tamimi, who was arrested a month into the war on supicion of involvement in terrorist activity and incitement. of the nearly seven thousand palestinians that are in israeli prisons,

an estimated 1300 people are being held in administrative detention, according to the israel prison service. that is a controversial practice that allows for israeli authorities to hold people indefinitely on security grounds without a trial or charges brought against them. the policy has been widely criticized, with un experts calling on israel to end the "cruel and inhumane" practice in may. israel has defended the detentions saying it's a preventative measure. 220 detainees have been released to return to the west bank and the question is who will control the area. it is complicated. in 1994, control of the west bank with hannah back to the palestinian authorities. in some areas or jointly with others and about 60% of the land is run by israel alone.

we've come to a village just of jenin, to the house of a teenager he was released from an israeli jail this week. he said israeli guards have been beaten. he said both hands were fractured in the assault eight days before the release. freed from jail on monday night, mohammed is still imprisoned by his injuries. needing help to eat, drink, and go to the bathroom, he says. first, from his fellow prisoners, now from his fellow prisoners, now from his family. the happy reunion they expected rewritten on the faces of his relatives around the room. translation: , ., ., translation: they arranged it so that he was _ translation: they arranged it so that he was put _ translation: they arranged it so that he was put in _ translation: they arranged it so that he was put in the - translation: they arranged it so that he was put in the back l so that he was put in the back and they are in the front. it took me inside and beat me, i was trying to protect my head. and they were trying to break

my hands. and they were trying to break my hands-— and they were trying to break m hands. , . ,, . my hands. israel prison service sa s my hands. israel prison service says mohammed _ my hands. israel prison service says mohammed was _ my hands. israel prison service| says mohammed was examined my hands. israel prison service i says mohammed was examined by doctor before release and that his claims are false. it is published a video of him boarding a red cross bus on monday night, his hands are bandaged. meeting his family on arrival in the west bank, both hands are wrapped in bandages. he said the first treatment he received was on that red cross bus. on the day he arrived back, a hospital in ramallah confirmed both his hands were fractured. we showed the to two uk doctors who confirmed diagnosis. his medical report recommends admission to hospital and possible surgery. mohammed says abuse of palestinian prisoners was common after the hum attacks last month. he showed me the bruises where he said the guards used sticks, there feet and dogs to assault them.

translation:— and dogs to assault them. translation: ., ., translation: the dog muzzle and called left marks _ translation: the dog muzzle and called left marks all— translation: the dog muzzle and called left marks all over _ translation: the dog muzzle and called left marks all over my - called left marks all over my body and then started to beat us and then they took of our matches, clothes and pillars and through food on the floor. people were terrified.- people were terrified. other prisoners — people were terrified. other prisoners confirmed - people were terrified. other prisoners confirmed that. people were terrified. other - prisoners confirmed that guards behaviour change after hamas attacks. the bbc spoke to six people who said they were beaten before they were released. the palestinian prison societies as they heard testimony of guards urinating on inmates. israel says it is not aware of the claims and that all prisoners are legally detained. the brother of mohammed says something in him has broken. translation: , , ., translation: this is not the mohammed — translation: this is not the mohammed we _ translation: this is not the mohammed we know. - translation: this is not the mohammed we know. he - translation: this is not the mohammed we know. he was translation: this is not the - mohammed we know. he was much stronger back then. it is as if his heart is filled with terror. ~ ., ., �* , his heart is filled with terror. a, ., �* , ., his heart is filled with terror. ., �*, ., terror. mohammed's freedom was bou . ht terror. mohammed's freedom was bou~ht b terror. mohammed's freedom was bought by hamas _ terror. mohammed's freedom was bought by hamas with _ terror. mohammed's freedom was bought by hamas with israeli - bought by hamas with israeli hostages. the impact of the hamas attacks are keenly felt

he says in the chance of release and in israeli jails. lucy williams, bbc news. joining me live is donatella rovera, sernior crisis investigator for amnesty international. donatella — firstly, talks to us about the circumstances in which palestinians are held in israeli prisons because some were convicted of crimes such as attempted murder. others for things like throwing stones and some were in indefinite custody without charge? yes, the percentage of palestinian prisoners or detainees who are detained in israeli presents without charge or trial is very high, more than 35% of the almost 8000 palestinians who are detained in israeli prisons are held administratively, that means without charge or trial, and

without charge or trial, and without any intention can charge them. they are therefore unable to mount a legal defence because neither them or their lawyers know why they are being detained, the israeli authorities do not share with their lawyers or with anybody else any reasons for their detention. this administrative detention. this administrative detention is renewed typically every six months and it can be renewed indefinitely, so there are palestinians who are detained... are palestinians who are detained. . ._ are palestinians who are detained... , ., , detained... sorry to “ump in but we fl detained... sorry to “ump in but we are so h detained... sorry to “ump in but we are so short _ detained... sorry to jump in but we are so short on - detained... sorry to jump in but we are so short on time | detained... sorry to jump in - but we are so short on time and for israel on its part says all the prisoners detained are detained in accordance with law. with the israeli law, and it is a necessary preventative measure. what you make of that? it is a spurious claim because obviously the right to mount a defence is a fundamental human right. the fact that thousands of palestinians are being detained without charge or

trial and no intention of charging them and with no way of challenging their detention, it is very serious. these are not exceptional cases. we're talking about more than 35% of those detained and this is something that has been going on for years. it something that has been going on for years-— on for years. it is arbitrary detention. _ on for years. it is arbitrary detention. the _ on for years. it is arbitrary detention. the united - on for years. it is arbitrary - detention. the united nations has spoken out about it, but why do you think moore has not been done on this issue?- been done on this issue? israel does what _ been done on this issue? israel does what it — been done on this issue? israel does what it is _ been done on this issue? israel does what it is allowed - been done on this issue? israel does what it is allowed to - been done on this issue? israel does what it is allowed to do i does what it is allowed to do and the fact that they have been detaining palestinians without charge or trial in arbitrary detention for decades, this is not a new issue. it has been going on for decades. ., ., ., decades. ok, we have to leave it there. many _ decades. ok, we have to leave it there. many thanks. - you're watching bbc news. i'm helena humphrey in washington dc. thanks for your company. more world news coming your way

at the top of the hour. dojoin me then. hello there. next week will gradually turn milder, wetter and windier. but before then, this weekend, we're still in this very cold and frosty air with quite a few wintry hazards to come this weekend. there'll be some areas of fog, which will be slow to lift. we've also got the risk of snow and ice, but this time probably a bit further south across the uk. now these are the temperatures we're starting with first thing in the morning, a widespread frost, could be as low as —10 celsius in scotland. and following the earlier showers around these coastal areas, some icy patches, so too with that wintry weather coming into south west scotland. this is the area of mist, fog and low cloud. it will gradually shrink, break up, some sunshine comes through in most parts of the country. could stay grey and murky across parts of east anglia and lincolnshire. we've got more of these showers coming into north west england, into west wales and the far south west of england. it is going to be a cold day on saturday after that frosty start, typical temperatures

in the afternoon, one 1—3 celsius. and coming into that colder air, this wet weather will push its way eastwards, brings the risk of some sleet and snow inland, mainly north of the m4, up into northern england. but it could turn very icy for a while, even the risk of some quite dangerous freezing rain. bit drier for scotland and also for northern ireland, very frosty once again in scotland. temperatures again could be down to —10 celsius or so. heading into sunday, and we've still got some of that wet weather along the easten most parts of england, bit of sleet and snow in that, that will move away. and then across these southern areas, some more rain develops, the risk of some sleet and snow just on the northern edge. a lot of cloud for england and wales. a few showers coming into northern ireland, still dry and quite sunny, i think, in scotland. particularly cold here through the day. temperatures rising a bit in that rain in the south, could make double figures in the south west of england. and overnight we may see some more rain coming in as well. but this area of low pressure is deepening, the winds are strengthening, and that is moving northwards into that block of colder air. so not only have we got some wet and windy weather, we've also got the risk of some snow falling in some inland areas.

and even further north with those winds off the north sea, quite a few wintry showers coming into eastern parts of scotland and some showers feeding through the irish sea into western areas of wales. those temperatures beginning to risejust a little bit, but there is milder weather later on in the week.

voice—over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. around the world, people are looking to technology for clever solutions to tackle the challenges of climate change. i have come back to japan to visit some of the new world first projects that could pave the way to a sustainable future. both he and beyond. i am tracking down the inventors turning to the sea to meet our energy needs. visiting the countryside to see robots

helping an older generation of